Nestlé accused of adding sugar to baby food in poorer countries

Nestlé, a food and beverage company, has been accused of adding sugar and honey to its infant milk and cereal products sold in many poorer countries but not in wealthier countries.

This practice reportedly contradicts international health guidelines aimed at curbing childhood obesity and chronic diseases.

The accusation comes from a report by Public Eye, a Swiss investigative group.

Campaigners from Public Eye sent samples of the baby food products sold in Asia, Africa and Latin America to a Belgian laboratory for testing.

Researchers examined baby food products from Nestlé, including a follow-up milk formula brand intended for use for infants aged one and above, and Cerelac, a cereal aimed at children aged between six months and two years, sold in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Tests revealed that high levels of added sugar or honey were found in many samples.

Researchers discovered that biscuit-flavoured cereals for babies aged six months and older contained 6g of added sugar per serving in Senegal and South Africa.

Tests on Cerelac products sold in India showed, on average, more than 2.7g of added sugar for every serving.

In Brazil, where Cerelac is known as Mucilon, two out of eight products were found to have no added sugar but the other six contained nearly 4g for each serving. In Nigeria, one product tested had up to 6.8g .

Meanwhile, tests on products from the Nido brand, which has worldwide retail sales of more than $1 billion, revealed significant variation in sugar levels.

The report noted that similar products in Nestlé’s European markets contain no added sugar.

In Switzerland, where Nestlé is headquartered, such products are sold with no added sugar.

Similarly, in Germany, France and the UK—Nestlé’s main European markets—all formulas for young children aged 12-36 months sold by the company contain no added sugar.

While some infant cereals for young children over one-year-old contain added sugar, cereals for babies aged six months do not.

Cerelac and Nido are some of Nestlé’s best-selling baby-food brands in low- and middle-income countries.

The amount of added sugar is often not even disclosed in the nutritional information available on the packaging of these kinds of products.

In most countries, including Switzerland and across Europe, companies are only required to indicate the amount of total sugars, which also includes those naturally present in milk or whole fruit, and are not considered harmful to health.

According to exclusive data obtained from Euromonitor, a market analysis firm specialising in the food industry, their sales value in this category was greater than $2.5 billion in 2022.

The WHO is alarmed that obesity is dramatically on the rise, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, where it has now reached “epidemic proportions” and is fueling an increase in non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes.

Increased consumption of ultra-processed foods, often high in sugar, is singled out as one of the main causes of this epidemic.

Youngest children are not immune to this scourge: childhood obesity has increased tenfold over the past four decades, according to the UN agency.

It’s estimated that 39 million children under the age of 5 are overweight or obese, the vast majority of which live in low- and middle-income countries.

In Africa, the number of overweight children under five has increased by nearly 23% since 2000, according to the World Health Organisation.

Globally, more than 1 billion people are living with obesity.

The report says Nestlé seems to be turning a deaf ear to these appeals, stating that while the multinational publicly recommends avoiding baby foods containing added sugar, these wise words don’t seem to apply to low- and middle-income countries, where Nestlé continues to add high levels of sugar to some of its most popular products.

Nestlé did not respond to specific questions about this double standard, according to Public Eye.

It, however, noted that the company told them that it “has reduced by 11% the total amount of added sugars in [its] infant cereal portfolio worldwide” over the past decade and that it will “further reduce the level of added sugars without compromising on quality, safety and taste”.

Nestlé also indicated that it is phasing out sucrose and glucose syrup of its Nido “growing up milks” globally.

The company added that its products “fully comply” with the Codex Alimentarius and local laws.

A Public Eye’s agriculture and nutrition expert, Laurent Gaberell, said: “Nestlé must put an end to these dangerous double standards and stop adding sugar in all products for children under three years old, in every part of the world.”

A Nestlé spokesperson said: “We believe in the nutritional quality of our products for early childhood and prioritise using high-quality ingredients adapted to the growth and development of children.”

She said that within the “highly regulated” category of baby food, Nestlé always complied “with local regulations or international standards, including labelling requirements and thresholds on carbohydrate content that encompasses sugars” and declared total sugars in its products, including those coming from honey.